Mark Kiszla: Is Bo and the Broncos traveling salvation show rolling toward the NFL playoffs? Amen, brother!

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Brother Bo and the Broncos traveling salvation show rolled on, keeping the faith, forming a brotherhood and conjuring a little football magic that saved another NFL season from despair.

And when this long, strange trip from the Gulf of Mexico to the hills of West Virginia to the Big Apple was done, a kid that grew up in Alabama watching Aaron Rodgers on television, found a way to beat a childhood hero.

With more than a little help from his friends on a Denver defense that’s giving us all Orange Crush vibes, Nix escaped with a 10-9 victory in a game nobody except the Broncos thought they had any business winning.

“It’s not the Ringling Brothers or the Springsteen tour,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said Sunday. “But there were a lot of people that put in a lot of work. And it was worth it.”

A circus? A rock show? An excursion? Whatever you want to call it, Payton plotted the itinerary between road games against the Buccaneers and Jets to include a workcation at the five-star Greenbrier Resort in the wilds of Appalachia.

“Oh, man. We’ve been on the road so long,” said Broncos defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, wondering if his peeps back in Colorado will still recognize his face. “But we got us two dubs.”

Can I get a hallelujah from the chorus, Broncos Country?

We haven’t seen a football miracle this improbable since a preacher named Tim Tebow passed through Colorado.

Leading an often-stilted Broncos offense that had me checking the calendar to make certain it was 2024 and not 1924, Nix threw for a mere 60 yards, which was very Tebow-esque. But more than 60 percent of Nix’s entire passing production was the result of two darts to Courtland Sutton in the third quarter, including an eight-yard pass that gave Denver the only touchdown it would need.

“That’s Bo. Nothing is too big for him. He acts so mature; I think he might be the second-oldest quarterback in the league. Aaron is No. 1, but Bo might be No. 2,” said Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers, dishing good-natured grief at a 40-year-old QB he used to play alongside back in his own days as a member of the Jets.

“The first half didn’t go too well for Bo, but he came to the sideline during the second half and told all of us: ‘Look, man. We’re going to win this game. We’re going to find a way.’”

While a game ball was awarded to vice president of operations Chip Conway for beautifully executing the logistics of turning the Greenbrier into one big frat house for the Broncos, we all wonder why a team that started this season with back-to-back losses is now back at 2-2 in the AFC West standings and very much in the race for a playoff spot.

Over the course of more than 11 consecutive quarters – a span of 166 minutes and 56 seconds on the game clock – a Denver defense coordinated by Vance Joseph has surrendered only a single touchdown.

“V.J. is going to keep on making great calls, and we’re going to get after it,” said cornerback Pat Surtain, after the Broncos sacked Rodgers five times and limited a certain Hall of Famer to only 184 net yards passing.

Denver stopped Rodgers and the Jets stone cold when they had first-and-goal at the one-yard line early and stood firm in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, forcing New York kicker Greg Zuerlein to attempt a 50-yard field goal that slipped outside the right upright, allowing the visitors a happy flight back to Colorado after 10 days on the road.

It’s a trip that changed the vibe of a team that was looking like the same snakebit Denver rosters that invented ways to lose during an eight-year playoff drought.

“We’re eager to win. We know the fans in Denver want winners. We want to give them something to support,” Roach said. “And I think this week, hanging out in West Virginia, made a big difference. We hung out a lot, it reminded me of college. And it reminded us all to look at a teammate and say: “I’ve got to go to war with him. And for him.’”

I don’t know about the rest of you naysayers, but this knucklehead did predict before Nix’s first start as a rookie that the Broncos would finish with a 9-8 record and secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since winning Super Bowl 50.

Do you believe in Bo and the Broncos Traveling Salvation Show now?

Or does his lack of those Star Wars numbers that dazzled us all in the Peyton Manning era make you less than confident that Nix can continue walking this tightrope from here to the playoffs?

“At some point we’ll stop with the confidence (thing) ,” Payton said. “This kid is confident. I should send him out to dinner with every one of you, and you’ll see.”

OK, coach. You’re on.

I will make the reservations at Shanahan’s Steakhouse, and gladly introduce the Broncos rookie quarterback to the glory of a 36-ounce Wagyu ribeye tomahawk.

Medium rare, please.

And I’ll put it on your tab, Mr. Payton.